(Regular updates will be available on the Alberta Pulse Growers website.)

Pulse Canada and the CSCA are partners of the Ag Transport Coalition (ATC)*, which tracks performance of the Canadian railway network for the movement of grain.

A new grain network status report has been created to provide stakeholders with comprehensive insight on the performance of the Canadian rail system for the 2020-2021 grain year. The report provides information and data on the status of the rail network as of midnight the previous day.

The railway performance data reported in these reports reflect the performance of rail shipments specifically for grain shippers participating in the Ag Transport Coalition’s railway performance measurement program – estimated to encompass approximately 90-95% of western Canadian originated grain shipments by rail.

May 24, 2021: Report Synopsis

Loads on Wheels

• Average daily loads on wheels declined 16% to 7,300 cars per day last week – consistent with the pattern seen throughout much of last week.

• Loads on wheels begin this week below the 7,000 car threshold for two straight days and early in week 43, trail last week’s pace by 13%.

Cars Not Moving

• Average daily system counts of idle cars increased slightly last week but remain significantly lower than levels seen throughout much of the last two months.

• After bouncing up to 1,600 cars on Sunday counts returned near 1,400 cars in the general vicinity of where they have been for much of the last two weeks.

Port Unloads

•  West coast unloads at fewer than 800 cars per day last week dropped off 20% from the prior week – in large part due to few unloads reported at Prince Rupert last week.

• Thunder Bay unloads fell short of the prior week’s performance at fewer than 300 cars per day.

 

For more information, go to www.agtransportcoalition.com* The Ag Transportation Coalition is comprised of the Canadian Canola Growers Association (CCGA), Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC), Pulse Canada, Manitoba Pulse Growers Association (MPGA), Western Grain Elevator Association (WGEA), Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission, Inland Terminal Association of Canada (ITAC) and the Canadian Special Crops Association (CSCA). All daily network status reports are available on the Pulse Canada website.